Emma Frost: The Ultimate Collection
Writer: Karl Bollers
Artists: Randy Green and Carlo Pagulayan
An engaging and well-written origin for the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, and long-time X-Man, Emma Frost…
Ranking: 5 stars
From my experiences, I often hate fictional characters that are upper class, rich jerks! By that I mean characters that behave in selfish manners because of their wealth and prestige, and look down upon the less fortunate because of their social status. Now that’s not to say that I hate characters with ambiguous morality, or make questionable decisions. In fact, I often find morally ambiguous characters to be the most developed as they provide complex psychology, and their actions can sometimes show that the world is not completely black and white, but that there are grays to every situation. So even though I may not approve of their actions, I can understand what motivates them from a psychological perspective and feel that they become more complex and developed as a result. The problem that I have with the “upper class, rich jerk” trend however, is that because that the bad decisions and mean-spirited behavior of these characters is a result of greed and lust for power, which makes them detestable and one-dimensional in my eyes. Several of my most hated fictional characters fall under this archetype, including Daisy Buchanan from THE GREAT GATSBY, the Secretary of Defense from INDEPENDENCE DAY, Dolores Umbridge from HARRY POTTER, and worst of all… Cal Hockey from TITANIC. However, as much as I hate this character trend, I feel that there is at least one exception to every rule, and in this case that exception would be the X-Man, Emma Frost.
For those who do not know, Emma Frost is a mutant who possesses telepathic abilities, as well as a secondary mutation that allows her to transform her skin into solid diamond. Before she became a member of the X-Men, she was once the White Queen of the dreaded Hellfire Club, a secret society whose inner circle of mutants intends to conquer the world through their vast political and economic influence. Emma would eventually leave the Hellfire Club however and end up joining the X-Men after the genocide of Genosha in Grant Morrison’s NEW X-MEN. Since then she has become a highly prominent leader of the team, and has engaged in a romantic relationship with Cyclops. While Emma Frost comes from a prestigious background, wears particularly provocative clothing, and is not afraid to flaunt rude attitude towards her fellow teammates, what separated her from most “upper class, rich jerks” in my opinion was humorous personality. Emma will often make witty sarcastic remarks towards others, which help serve to flaunt her selfish ego in a manner that I find absolutely hilarious! (My favorite one-liner of Emma’s is in NEW X-MEN where Jean asks Emma what makes her such a b****, and Emma replies, “Breeding darling… Top-class breeding…” (Makes me chuckle every time)). And while Emma’s playful banter does make her come across as egotistical, she also conveys a degree of humanity that shows that she does care for her comrades, and wants to everything in her power to protect mutant kind. So while Emma can definitely come across as a b****, her sarcastic personality and subtle empathy makes her a three-dimensional character with humanity and dignity, rather than a simple bully who is motivated solely by greed. It is because of Emma’s ability to be humorous and likable despite belonging to an archetype that I often hate, that she ranks among my top 5 favorite X-Men members. To compliment the character's unique traits, in the early 2000’s, writer Karl Bollers wrote a fantastic 18-issue series that provided an in-depth exploration of Emma Frost’s past, and the decisions and situations that have made her the person she is today.
The woman who would soon become the seductive mutant telepath was originally an innocent teenage girl from a highly prestigious family in Boston. Life was hard for young Emma as while she attended private school, she struggled to maintain average grades and was the target of ridicule from more academically successful and popular students, and her home-life was no better due to having selfish siblings and a father who was focused only on business and cared little for his children’s well-being. The only anchors that help guide Emma through her struggles are her older brother Christian, who is rebellious against their neglectful father, and her teacher Ian Kendall, who believes that she has great potential and encourages her to strive towards a better future. Everything changes for Emma however when she begins to suffer a series of intense headaches that eventually result in her awakening her mutant telepathic abilities. Now able to hear the thoughts of others, Emma uses her newfound skills to pass all of her exams and become one of the best students in the class. Kendall takes notice of this and encourages her to pursue a career in teaching. But that may prove difficult for Emma as she struggles with developing feelings towards her teacher, her father’s controlling influence, and situations that will distance herself even further from her family. Desiring to forge her own path, Emma Frost will use her telepathic abilities to make life easier for herself, becoming more ruthless and unethical as she takes steps towards becoming the cunning and ambitious woman that readers know today!
As an origin story, EMMA FROST: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION definitely succeeds in developing the past of the dreaded White Queen. Not only is the story well written, with the characters and their dilemmas immediately established, but it also has a careful handling on Emma’s personality and development. Rather than immediately writing Emma as the openly sarcastic and egocentric woman she is today, Karl Bollers makes the careful decision to start her out as shy and innocent teen. She is struggling to maintain her grades, is bullied by her fellow classmates, and has a strained relationship with her rich father and spoiled sisters. Her personality reflects this, as she is unconfident in her own abilities, is awkward and shy around her peers, and will only open herself up to individuals like her teacher and older brother, who acknowledge her worth. This allows the reader to develop sympathy towards Emma as it not only establishes the circumstances that will progress her character development later on, but grounds them in realistic situations that readers can connect and relate to. However, Emma’s behavior gradually begins to become more reckless and selfish once she awakens her telepathic powers, as she uses them to commit actions such as cheating on tests to outscore her former bullies, rebel against her father’s controlling nature, and win poker games while struggling to live on her own. The more Emma commits these actions, the more she begins to relish in the power she feels in feeling superior over the people who originally made her miserable. Essentially, rather than having her enjoy feeling superior over others right from the start, her enjoyment slowly develops over time. Because of this, Emma does not come across as a one-dimensional character who simply enjoys tormenting others for the sake of it, but as an actual human being influenced by the misuse of power. Not only does this decline in ethical behavior connect perfectly with her future status as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, but it also allows readers to sympathize with her, as she was innocent and noble at one point.
Bollers also provides further sympathy towards Emma by having her actions be justified by unselfish intentions. Rather than being committed out of spite or a desire for dominance, Emma had originally read the minds of her students and teachers in order to improve her grades is that she could make her teacher Mr. Kendall proud. This was not only because she admired him, but also that Kendall was one of the few people to not shun Emma, and he openly acknowledged her feelings and potential skills. Emma’s disobedience against her father is also justified, as it was developed from a desire to protect her older brother Christian, and his desire for independence. While Emma had a strained relationship with her two sisters, she held a close bond with Christian, as he wanted to escape his father’s neglectful and demanding nature. Therefore, Emma was willing to help her older brother because she also held contempt towards their father. However, Emma’s actions gradually become more defiant as their father keeps interfering with Christian’s well being, and Emma retaliates by resorting to unethical methods such as blackmailing dark secrets against him. The noble intentions behind Emma’s actions help provide a human layer to her character, portraying her not as being selfish and defiant simply out of vanity, but having slowly developed those traits through her noble attempts to overcome the dilemmas of both herself and others. In essence, her actions started out as moral but became more corrupted as time progressed. This not only allows readers to connect and sympathize with Emma from a psychological perspective, even if they don’t agree with her unethical behavior, but also connects with her later becoming an X-Man, willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of her friends and fellow mutants, despite her egotistical attitude.
Overall, EMMA FROST: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION is an intelligently crafted origin story for one of my favorite X-Men. The story is well-written, the characters and situations immediately established and made relatable by being grounded in realism, and the careful handling of Emma’s gradual ethical decline allows readers to connect and sympathize with her, rather than be turned off by her actions. Quite rarely is a character from wealthy background committing selfish actions made likable in my eyes, as the only motivations that I get from them are a simple lust for greed and power. With Emma Frost however, her character is compelling not only in her sarcastic personality, but because she does convey concern and distress for others despite being selfish and egotistical. To make a selfish character likable is indeed an incredibly difficult task, but the writers behind Emma’s character do it with such care and handling that it has made her one of my favorite members of the X-Men!
“ ‘They’re a rotten crowd’, I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole [darn] bunch put together.’ ”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, THE GREAT GATSBY
